It is common for an automotive manufacturer to design a component so that it can be used across a range of vehicle platforms. One of the challenges that the automotive manufacturer faces is how to package an engine in an engine bay of a number of different vehicles. For example, it may be particularly difficult to package a larger engine in the engine bay of a smaller vehicle. It is desirable, therefore, to reduce the packaging requirements of the engine so that it can be installed in a wider range of vehicle platforms.
One way of reducing the packaging requirements of the engine is to reduce the overall size of an engine casing. This is particularly difficult as the size of the engine casing is defined by the configuration of the engine components. Further, the engine casing is a structural component that is assembled from a number of different casing components, including a crankcase, a cylinder block and a cylinder head. In order to provide the necessary structural requirements, the casing components are sized accordingly and assembled using fasteners that clamp the casing components together, providing the required casing rigidity.
A further requirement of the engine casing is to seal engine fluids within the engine. As such, the joints between various components of the engine casing are designed to prevent fluids leaking out of the engine. It is difficult to reduce the packaging requirements of the engine casing while maintaining the structural and sealing requirements of the joints between engine casing components.
According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a casing portion is provided, for example a casing portion of a machine such as an engine or a gearbox. The casing portion may be a crankshaft casing, a cylinder block casing, a cylinder head casing or other portion of an engine casing. The casing portion has a first sealing face configured to engage a second sealing face of another casing portion so as to form a sealed joint therebetween in an assembled configuration. The casing portion comprises a recess configured to receive a sealant, for example a sealant retention channel. The recess is provided adjacent to, e.g. adjoining or next to, the first sealing face of the casing portion. For example, the recess may be a pocket or channel that is provided in a portion of the first sealing face. The casing portion comprises at least one opening configured to receive a fastener configured to clamp the casing portion to one or more other casing portions. The opening at least partially extends into a wall of the recess. The opening may extend into the first sealing face. At least a portion of an edge of the opening may be recessed from the first sealing face.
The casing portion may be configured to house one or more engine components. The casing portion may be configured to seal a fluid within the engine casing. The casing portion may be one of: a cylinder block of an engine, a crankcase of an engine, a cylinder head of an engine and a sump casing of an engine.
The recess may be a sealant recess extending along the first sealing face. The recess may be offset from a peripheral edge of the first sealing face. The recess may extend at least partially across at least one of the openings in the first sealing face.
The recess may be configured to divide the first sealing face into a plurality of sealing face portions. For example, the recess may divide the first sealing face into one or more peripheral portions and one or more inner portions. The recess may be configured to form the sealant retention channel between the inner portion and the peripheral portion. The profile of the sealant retention channel may be symmetrical about a centerline of the sealant retention channel between the inner portion and the peripheral portion. For example, the cross-sectional profile of the sealant retention channel may be such that the sealant retention channel may be machined into the first sealing face using a single machining tool and/or in a single machining operation.
The peripheral portion may extend at least partially around the periphery of the first sealing face. The peripheral portion and/or the inner portion may extend at least partially around the inner edge of the first sealing face. The peripheral portion and/or the inner portion may be adjacent to at least one of the openings. The peripheral portion and/or the inner portion may adjoin an edge of the opening. The peripheral portion and/or the inner portion may be offset from an edge of the opening.
The recess may fluidically connect the opening to an inner face of the casing portion. For example, the recess may permit a fluid contained within the casing portion to flow between the opening and the inside of the casing portion such that the fastener is exposed to the fluid contained within the casing portion.
The opening may extend into at least one of the first sealing face, the recess and the inner portion. The recess may extend along the first sealing face, for example in a direction that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the opening. The recess may extend at least partially across the opening.
The inner portion may extend partially around the periphery of the opening. For example, the peripheral portion and/or the inner portion may be configured to surround only a portion of the perimeter of the opening. The peripheral portion and/or the inner portion may be configured to bear against a load applied by the fastener. For example, the peripheral portion may be a peripheral bearing portion, and the inner portion may be an inner bearing portion. The peripheral bearing portion and/or the inner bearing portion may each comprise a surface configured to resist a proportion of a clamp load applied by the fastener. The surface area of the peripheral bearing portion and/or the inner bearing portion may be configured to provide the required bearing area for a clamp load applied by the fasteners. For example, the surface area of the peripheral bearing portion and/or the inner bearing portion may be determined according to a maximum allowable bearing stress. The surface area of the peripheral bearing portion and/or the inner bearing portion may be selected according to the minimum surface area that provides support for the clamp load applied by one or more of the fasteners.
The casing portion may be cast from a metallic material. The recess may be manufactured as an as-cast feature. In the context of the present disclosure, the term “as-cast feature” is defined as a feature of the casing portion that has not received finishing, for example beyond gate removal, and/or treatment of any kind, such as heat treatment or surface treatment after casting. In this manner, an as-cast feature is a feature that has not been subject to any further machining and/or treatment processes after the manufacture of the feature using a casting process, i.e. that feature is functional in its as-cast state. The benefit of an as-cast feature is that the manufacturing costs of the casing portion can be reduced by minimizing the number of manufacturing processes that are performed on the casing portion.
The casing portion may be molded from a polymeric material. The recess may be manufactured as an as-molded feature. In the context of the present disclosure, the term “as-molded feature” is defined as a feature of the casing portion that has not received finishing, for example beyond gate removal, and/or treatment of any kind, such as heat treatment or surface treatment after molding. In this manner, an as-molded feature is a feature that has not been subject to any further machining and/or treatment processes after the manufacture of the feature using a molding process, i.e. that feature is functional in its as-molded state. The benefit of an as-molded feature is that the manufacturing costs of the casing portion can be reduced by minimizing the number of manufacturing processes that are performed on the casing portion.
There is provided an engine and/or a vehicle comprising one or more of the above described casing portions.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a method of manufacturing a casing portion for an engine. The casing portion has a first sealing face configured to engage a second sealing face of another casing portion so as to form a sealed joint therebetween in an assembled configuration. The method comprising providing a recess in the first sealing face. The recess is configured to receive a sealant. The method comprises providing at least one opening configured to receive a fastener. The opening at least partially extends into a surface of the recess.
To avoid unnecessary duplication of effort and repetition of text in the specification, certain features are described in relation to only one or several aspects or arrangements of the disclosed subject matter. However, it is to be understood that, where it is technically possible, features described in relation to any aspect or arrangement of the disclosure may also be used with any other aspect or arrangement of the disclosure.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.